1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to railway rolling stock, in particular to a trackman's car carrying a portable set-off device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As the railroads are modernizing and the maintenance of tracks is increasing, small but necessary items, such as permanent set-off devices for motorcars, are becoming obsolete. However, there remains a need in the railroad industry for a portable set-off device that is easy to handle and store. Portable set-off devices are beginning to replace the permanent set-off devices now utilized throughout the industry.
The main disadvantage of the permanent set-off device, which is affixed to the railroad ties between the iron rails at predetermined distances from each other, is that a motorcar, if traveling upon the same track on which a train is also heading in the opposite direction, must reach the permanent set-off device and be removed from the railroad track before the oncoming train reaches the same position. Thus, this method of operating a railroad sometimes presents trackmen with a dangerous situation.
Although portable set-off devices are known in the railroad industry, they have not met with complete acceptance because they do not provide an easy and quick way for removing the motorcar from the railroad tracks. Such exemplary prior art portable set-off devices are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 367,260, 1,351,972, and 3,182,604.
Thus, it is still a problem in the railroading industry to provide a portable set-off device which is easy to handle, quick to use, light weight, and ready to be stored in an unobtrusive but convenient place on the motorcar.